Actress Ginnifer Goodwin (from ABC’s Once Upon A Time) knew nothing about her paternal grandfather John Barton Goodwin’s family because he refused to talk about his parents. In the premiere episode of the brand new season of TLC’s Who Do You Think You Are? she goes on a journey to uncover the truth behind her great-grandparents’ story, and is shocked to discover turbulent lives filled with court cases, drugs and incarcerations.
Like many new moms, Ginnifer became even more interested in learning about her family history after the birth of her son, Oliver. In this episode, she starts her search for information with her dad, Tim, who recalls that his father’s parents were named Nellie and John “Al” Goodwin, and that for some unknown reason, John Barton (Tim’s dad) was abandoned when he was just 11 years old. The last time he did any research, Tim found a 1910 Census return in which buy acne medication online Nellie, Al and John Barton are living in Batesville, Arkansas. Ginnifer wonders what could have happened for Nellie to have let an 11 year old leave her home, and heads to Arkansas to see if she can find some answers with the help of some very talented genealogists.
Local records in Batesville reveal that Nellie’s maiden name was Haynes, and a search for her marriage record returns a result for Nellie and a man named J.D. Williams, and another great grandfather Al Goodwin!
Ginnifer wondered what happened with Nellie’s first marriage that she eventually married Al Goodwin. Was Nellie a young widow? The local genealogist explains that death records of this time are incomplete and advises Ginnifer to visit the Independence County Courthouse to search for evidence for the other alternative to the end of a marriage: divorce records.
Next week: We’ll share some additional discoveries not covered in Ginnifer’s episode. Stay tuned!
It’s another exciting week of family history TV on TLC! Here’s the latest and a video sneak peek:
“TLC’s two time Emmy-nominated series continues, and this week actor Kelsey Grammer explores his family history tomorrow night, August 20 at 9/8c.
Watch the sneak peek video:
In his episode, Kelsey Grammer takes a trip into the past to explore his beloved grandmother’s family. He uncovers the story of a woman haunted by demons, and finds a connection to family who risked everything in one of the greatest migrations in American history.”
Kelsey Grammer with Archivist Layne Sawyer (Courtesy TLC)
More WDYTYA Good News:
TLC has acquired episodes from previous seasons of the Who Do You Think You Are? Tomorrow night two earlier episodes will make their debut on the cable channel. Enjoy encores of Reba McEntire’s episode at 8/9c, and Vanessa Williams’ episode at 10/9c. Back when the episode originally aired Vanessa Williams made an appearance on Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast episode 63 which members can listen to as part of the Premium podcast archive which features over 100 exclusive episodes.
Next week Minnie Driver’s episode will air as the season finale on August 27. Next week’s encore episodes will include Tim McGraw and Rita Wilson.
TLC’s WDYTYA? is about to start its 5th television season here in the U.S. but you can watch a new sneak peek video here. The video was posted yesterday on the Rachel Adams Online website. Rachel will be featured along with her sister in one of the new episodes.
Other celebrities featured this time around are: This year’s line-up of participants includes Valerie Bertinelli, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kelsey Grammer, Rachel McAdams and her sister Kayleen McAdams, and Cynthia Nixon.
In other WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? news, it was announced today that the show has just received its second Emmy nomination for Outstanding Structured Reality Program for the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards.
“We’re all so thrilled to have WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? recognized with another Emmy nomination. It was our first season on TLC, and every department was truly wonderful to work with. We’re thrilled with every episode we get to shoot, taking someone on a historical trip through their ancestral past, so this is a much appreciated nod to all the people who worked so hard to make it happen. We are thrilled that our audience has found the show and continued to appreciate it in our new collaboration with TLC,” said Executive Producers Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky.
The series is produced for TLC by Shed Media US and Is or Isn’t Entertainment. Executive Producers are Lisa Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky, Alex Graham, Pam Healey and Al Edgington. For TLC Executive Producers are Howard Lee, Timothy Kuryak and Amy Winter.
Who Do You Think You Are? season five (and second on TLC) will feature six popular celebrities from TV and film. The Wrap just posted an article announcing the following:
Valerie Bertinelli (a personal fave of mine from childhood days on One Day At a Time to Hot in Cleveland)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (ABC’s Modern Family)
Lauren Graham (Wonderful in Gilmore Girls, and currently starring in NBC’s Parenthood)
Kelsey Grammer (best known for Cheers and Frasier )
Rachel McAdams (known for movies such as Mean Girls, The Notebook) and her sister, Kayleen McAdams.
Cynthia Nixon (HBO’s Sex in the City) Here’s an sneak peek at Cynthia’s episode:
Most family historians devoured the previous seasons, but if you missed any there is good news: TLC has been said to have acquired ten episodes from the show’s previous NBC seasons. You can look forward to episodes featuring:
Matthew Broderick
Lisa Kudrow(listen to Lisa talk about her episode and the series in Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 81 and Premium members can hear exclusive audio in Genealogy Gems Premium episode 41
Rob Lowe
Reba McEntire
Tim McGraw
Gwyneth Paltrow
Sarah Jessica Parker
Brooke Shields
Vanessa Williams (also featured in Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 63)
Rita Wilson
Set Your DVR: Who Do You Think You Are? Season 5 begins Wednesday, July 23 at 9/8c.
The final episode of TLC’s first season of Who Do You Think You Are? came with more than just an extra helping of ancestral drama. Along with the end of the season came the welcome announcement that WDYTYA? will return in 2014 on TLC.
First, the final episode recap: American actor Jim Parsons explored his paternal line and discovered one ancestor who was lost in a tragic accident–and another who narrowly escaped death by guillotine.
The Ancestry.com research team reports, “When we went digging into Jim Parsons’ family tree we found his third-great-grandfather was Jean Baptiste Hacker, a physician who was raised in New Orleans but moved to Plaquemine, Louisiana, after starting his medical career. Just a few years later, Dr. Hacker, along with his daughter Leocadie and his nephew, was killed in a tragic fire on board the steamboat Gipsy in December 1854.”
They documented the accident through an article from New Orleans paper the Daily Picayune (digitized at Newspapers.com and shown here):
Another line of research takes Jim’s ancestry back to France, where he learned one of his forebears was an architect to Louis XV. “The timing of Louis Francois [Trouard]’s appointment is significant: 1787 is only two years prior to the French Revolution. Four architects were executed during the Revolution, and another 25 were imprisoned. Yet Louis Francois escaped Republican retribution….”
“At the Chapelle de la Providence, a structure designed by his ancestor, Jim discovers the startling truth: Louis Francois had good revolutionary credentials, including houseguests such as Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.”
Along with that riveting last episode, TLC just announced it will bring back more of the same next season. On September 10, Digital Spy reported that 2014 will see 10 more episodes. Celebrity guests haven’t been announced yet, so stay tuned! We’ll keep you posted on future developments.
Meanwhile, TV watchers, mark your calendars for the American version of Genealogy Roadshow, the PBS show scheduled to debut next week.
Actress Ginnifer Goodwin (from ABC’s Once Upon A Time) knew nothing about her paternal grandfather John Barton Goodwin’s family because he refused to talk about his parents. In the premiere episode of the brand new season of TLC’s Who Do You Think You Are? she goes on a journey to uncover the truth behind her great-grandparents’ story, and is shocked to discover turbulent lives filled with court cases, drugs and incarcerations.
